This
week, I expect the Senate to unanimously pass my resolution designating this
Saturday, July 30th, National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.
This
year, the resolution has twenty-one cosponsors from both sides of the aisle,
which is more than ever before.
That
should serve as an important reminder that protecting and celebrating
whistleblowers is not a partisan issue.
It’s
just good government.
This
Congress, I’ve been working on several pieces of whistleblower legislation that
also have bipartisan support.
One
of those bills, which I introduced last December along with Senators Warren and
Warnock, relates to money laundering.
In
2020, Congress established the first ever anti-money laundering whistleblower
program.
Under
this reward-based program, whistleblowers who provide actionable information to
the government that exposes money laundering may receive a percentage of the
funds recovered as a result of their disclosures.
While
an important step forward, the current program has its issues.
First,
there’s no minimum award amount, so the government isn’t obligated to pay a
whistleblower anything at all, even if the information the whistleblower
provides leads to a successful enforcement action.
Second,
the program doesn’t provide the Treasury Department with a mechanism to pay
whistleblowers and instead relies on yearly congressional appropriations.
My
bill addresses all of these issues.
It
raises the cap on whistleblower rewards from 25 to 30 percent.
And
it sets a 10 percent base minimum on rewards to ensure that if the government
collects as a result of a whistleblower disclosure, the whistleblower isn’t
left holding the short end of the stick.
It
also establishes a funding mechanism to ensure that the Treasury Department has
funds readily available to pay whistleblowers independent of congressional
appropriations.
These
improvements will ensure that whistleblowers have the confidence to come
forward and assist law enforcement in cracking down on money laundering.
The
bill also expands the whistleblower disclosures that are eligible for an award.
Current
whistleblower laws don’t offer anything to whistleblowers who report violations
of sanctions.
That
would include sanctions placed on Russian oligarchs following Vladimir Putin’s
unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
That’s
a missed opportunity.
I
have it on good authority there are whistleblowers who might have come forward
to report sanctions violations associated with the Russians if only a reward
system were in place to cover their disclosures.
My
bill fills the gap by expanding the list of covered disclosures to include
sanctions violations.
Another
bill, which I am introducing this week, strengthens FBI whistleblower
protections.
For
years, the FBI has argued that the FBI and the Justice Department should retain
tight control over FBI whistleblower retaliation cases.
The
FBI has its own separate whistleblower law that leaves authority for settling
FBI whistleblower retaliation complaints to the FBI and the Justice Department.
The
bill will allow FBI employees to appeal their whistleblower retaliation cases
to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
This
gives them outside review by a neutral third party.
The
bill also includes a kick-out provision.
That
will mean that if the FBI doesn’t act in a timely manner, the whistleblower can
take their case straight to the MSPB.
This
bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by Senators Durbin, Hawley, Whitehouse and
Blackburn.
I
want to thank them for their support.
Those
are just two of several legislative initiatives before Congress that will
ensure whistleblowers remain protected.
I
urge Congress to consider and pass this legislation before the end of the
year.
Support
for whistleblowers is something we can all get behind.
It
can and should unite every member of the Congress who believes government needs
to remain transparent and accountable to the people.
This
week, I encourage my fellow senators to remember that important fact.
Let’s
renew our shared commitment to strengthening the nation’s whistleblower laws by
taking up and passing this important whistleblower legislation.
